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" We are waiting for you — come on — it's getting late and 
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THE STORY OF, 



N Paul JoInb 

(JOHN PAUL) 





NEW YORK 
MeLOUGHLIN BROTHERS 



LieRARY of CONGRRSS 
Two Conie?; f?«ceivcd 

AUG IQ 1906 

^ou^iai'i Entry 
CLASS CL XXC, No. 

/39 // 

COPY B. 



Copyright, 1906. by 
McLoUGHLiN Bros.. New Yoek. 



CHAPTER I 



Early Days. 



S 



CHAPTER n 



Land Ho! 



15 



CHAPTER HI 



Sailor and Patriot . 



24 



CHAPTER IV 
Lieutenant and Captain . 

CHAPTER V 

The Gallant "Ranger" . 



32 



. 40 



CHAPTER VI 



A Terrible Sea Fight 



48 



CHAPTER VII 



Last Years 



56 




He led a free and happy life amid these grand surroundings. 

Page 11. 



JOHN PAUL JONES 



CHAPTER I 



BjRN 1747 



EARLY DAYS 



DIED 1792 



In the year 1758 
a little trading ves- 
sel called the 
Friendship sailed 
out of the harbor 
of Whitehaven, in 
England, and 
turned her prow in 
the direction of the 
good colony of 
Virginia. Among 
the crew was a little boy, who had been lately 
bound apprentice to the ship's owner. Full of 
life, and over joyedi with expectations of the won- 
derful continent of the West, he ran about the 
vessel doing odd jobs, making himself useful in 



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6 JOHN PAUL JONES 

many ways, and becoming a favorite with all the 
crew. 

He was the most precious and valuable of all 
that little vessel's precious cargo, including the 
ship's company, for he turned out to be the fa- 
mous and gallant John Paul Jones. 

The first thing for us to do in going over the 
life and brave deeds of Paul Jones, is to take 
away his last name, which he had no right to at 
all. He took it, as the English said he took many 
other things without any just claims. However 
this may be, his right name was simply John 
Paul, and he was born on the 6th of July, 1747. 
Like several other Revolutionary heroes, he was 
not born in the country whose glorious history 
he helped to make, but on a fine old estate in the 
parish of Kirk-bean, Scotland. And like many 
another great man, his parents were poor. 

The father of our hero was a gardener on this 
estate, which was owned by a Mr. Craik, and 
called "Arbigland." He had, as we are told. 



JOHN PAUL JONES 7 

excellent taste in laying out gardens and plant- 
ing trees. It was a beautiful country home where 
the little John first saw the light of day, with 
shady groves and beautiful lawn, and all the 
things that make for health and happiness in a lit- 
tle boy. John's father worked about the place and 
rested in a quaint little cottage almost under the 
eaves of the large mansion. His father had been 
gardener before him; had lived and died close 
to nature in that homely and gentle trade — he was 
at the end of a long line of gardeners, who had 
come by their positions as naturally as kings 
come by their thrones, and it seemed very prob- 
able that the little boy, who romped around the 
spacious grounds, and ran across the flower beds, 
and climbed the tall elms, would come to be a 
gardener, too, and pass a quiet life far away from 
all the din and tumult of bloodshed and war. But 
this was not to be. 

John's father began to work for Mr. Craik 
when he was quite young and he soon became 



8 JOHN PAUL JONES 

a favorite of his wealthy and generous master. 
He had many duties to perform, but he found 
time from them to woo and win Jean jMacdufF, 
the ruddy and buxom daughter of a small farmer 
in the neighboring parish of New Abbey, and 
we may imagine him making his way through 
the rocky passes, across the crooked streams, over 
the wonderful, wild landscape which Sir Walter 
Scott tells us about, to call on his Scotch lassie 
and present her with a fresh bouquet from Mr. 
Craik's gardens. 

Jean's family were as old as the Scotch hills 
and quite as rugged and proud. There were 
strength and force and energy in the good old 
stock from which she came, and there was a gen- 
erous share of these qualities left on hand for the 
child who came to her later and made her name 
familiar to all the world. 

The marriage of the homely pair took place 
after the fashion of the simple Scotch country 
folk, and they settled down on Mr. Craik's es- 



JOHN PAUL JONES 9 

tate to a life of happiness and usefulness. If 
anyone had told them that they should help to be 
responsible, in any way, for the independence of 
the United States of America, they would prob- 
ably have opened their eyes very wide, and ac- 
cused the speaker of flattery. 

Seven children came to this pair, two of whom 
died before they had an opportunity to win re- 
nown, one at the age of seven months and the 
other at the end of three days. Of those who 
grew up, the eldest was a boy named William. 
Then came three girls, Elizabeth, Janet, and 
Mary Ann. And then came John. When John 
grew up he had an illustrious child of his own, 
of whom any parent might be proud, a child that 
has grown to strong and splendid power. For 
John became, as you know, the father of the 
American navy. 

When years had passed, and this gardener's 
son had achieved greatness, some well-meaning 
people tried to show that after all there was no- 



10 JOHN PAUL JONES 

ble blood running in his veins, that his real fa- 
ther was an earl — maybe the Earl of Selkirk — 
or, at any rate, some one of gentle birth. There 
are always people of this sort, who seem to think 
that greatness must be the child of riches and po- 
lite breeding. They have even tried to prove 
that the mighty Shakespeare was a baronet's son, 
as if the author of "Hamlet" could have been hon- 
ored, in any way, by a title. And they could not 
bear to think that the famous admiral was the 
son of a Scotch gardener. Such, however, he 
was, and like many great men he inherited his 
genius and character from his mother. 

About the beautiful mansion of his father's 
patron and employer, within hearing of the 
mighty waves that dashed against the Galloway 
shore hard by — and suggested, for ought we 
know, to the adventurous heart of the boy, a long- 
ing for the sea — the young John Paul spent the 
fleeting and precious days of his early childhood. 

We shall come back here, to this home, with 



JOHN PAUL JONES 11 

him after a while when events have become more 
stirring, so it is well to become acquainted with 
it now. 

He led a free and happy life amid these grand 
surroundings. He climbed the trees and ate the 
luscious apples, and tore his clothes as he ought 
to have done, and as it is a little boy's right to do. 
Perhaps the weird music of the desolate ocean, 
the distant peak of the great mountain of Hell- 
velljTi which rose above its neighbors not far 
away, did their part to plant the seeds of future 
courage in the boy's heart. 

About the pretty cottage, on Mr. Craik's es- 
tate, rose the rugged Scotch hills, weird and si- 
lent, save for the shrieks of wild birds that nested 
high among them, or the dismal echoes from the 
distant sea. It was amid these scenes that the 
old witches met the fearless and warlike Macbeth, 
and told him how to go forth and win renown and 
glory. It was among these grand, inspiring 



12 JOHN PAUL JONES 

scenes that the Httle Jolin Paul first gazed abroad 
upon the world. 

As years gave him strength to wander, these 
views, with all their weird legends, inspired him to 
ramble forth. Sometimes ^\4th the son of ^Ir. 
Cl-aik, he explored the rocks and caverns, climbed 
the heights, and gazed out over the broad expanse 
of ocean. Perhaps he wondered a little about the 
strange land beyond, and longed to go there. He 
could see the ships which passed along the shore 
nearby, and hear the hoarse voices of the hardy 
mariners borne upon the inw^ard breeze. He could 
hear the loud, gruff commands of mates and skip- 
pers. DoA^Tim the little bay, along the edge of the 
lawn, the storm-tossed vessels often came for 
shelter, and their tall masts mingled with the slen- 
der trees of the grove along the water's edge, and 
seemed to be a part of it. We may well imagine 
the wide open eyes of the little boy, as he watched 
the sailors rowing toward the shore, in their small 
boats, and listened to their wonderful tales of 



JOHN PAUL JONES 



13 




It was on this vessel that the young patriot sailor first raised th^ 
American flag. — Page 30. 



14 JOHN PAUL JONES 

adventure, of treasures dug up in mysterious 
islands, and terrible battles fought with pirates, 
on the high seas, 

So he passed the happy days until he was 
twelve years old, when he bade good-bye to his 
parents, and went across the Firth to White- 
haven, to be bound apprentice to Mr. Younger, 
a merchant in the American trade. 

I have seen many pictures of the famous ad- 
miral, standing on the decks of vessels in the 
midst of shot and shell ; and inspiring scenes 
they are indeed. But still I cannot seem to 
banish from my mind the thoughts of a shabby 
wide eyed little boy, but twelve years old, 
clinging to the deck-rail of a lurching ship, his 
coat and hair blown by the ocean wind, looking 
far off over the restless sea. And I wonder 
whether he was not sometimes lonely but did 
not dare to say so — and whether he wanted to 
go home. 



JOHN PAUL JONES 



13 



CHAPTER II 

LAND HO ! 

The crew of 
the good bark 
''Friendship " 
were an exceeding- 
ly jolly company 
of men, who drank 
their grog and 
spun their yarns in 
the cabin at night, 
and called ' * ship 
ahoy" and "heave ho" and any number of 
other incomprehensible things which the young 
apprentice could never understand. But the 
graceful ship seemed to obey her masters very 
well indeed for all the queer things they said 
about her, for she reared and lurched but still 
went gaily on her way, riding over the rolling 




16 JOHN PAUL JONES 

waves as if she were accustomed to these things 
and were not to be disturbed by them at all. 

As the last faint vestige of his native shore 
faded into a pale shadow, and then, as they 
sped further from it, seemed to dissolve into the 
air, until nothing was visible about them but 
the sea, the little sailor must have felt that he 
was quite alone in the great world. But it was 
not long before he began to conjure up within 
his mind the wondrous sights that he would see 
upon the mystic shores that he was going to visit 
and these imaginings filled his heart with hope 
and joyous expectation as the days rolled on. 

One morning, when he was standing near the 
deck-rail dreaming of the new life which was 
now unfolding itself before him, a sailor stopped 
and asked him if he had ever been to sea before. 

" I have been across the channel," he replied, 
''but never on a long voyage." 

'* Well, I'll tell yerwhat, then," said the sea- 
man, *' you've never been in a reg'lar storm." 



JOHN PAUL JONES 17 

'* No sir, and I do not want to be in a storm," 
answered the boy. **Do you think that we 
shall have a storm ? ' ' 

*' Think ? " shouted the man in great astonish- 
ment, *'why, Lord bless me, I know we'll 
have one — we're heading right for one. You 
see that dark spot over yonder ? Well, that's 
the Azores. You'll see that spot will turn into 
land tomorrow and the next day we'll pass it 
and then it will blow like His Royal Highness 
the devil was holding court — for there's always 
a storm about those islands — and has been ever 
since 1564." 

" What makes it ? " asked the boy. 

**Well, some thinks as the devil uses the 
place to hold his parliaments, and that the noise 
is made by the angry members when his infernal 
majesty vetoes bills. But there's not much 
truth in that opinion. All I know is as it's 
always storming there." 

The prospect of passing through the region 



18 JOHN PAUL JONES 

while these tempestuous debates were being 
carried on was not at all reassuring to our young 
hero, and he asked whether the storms were 
usually regarded as dangerous. 

" Well," rephed the man, '* that 'ud be hard 
to say. Some vessels have been wrecked along 
there and some has went down." 

' ' And was that long ago ? " 

' * Yes, years ago — the crews would all be dead 
now anyway — even if they hadn't a drowned, so 
it's just the same as if it never happened." 

This was not a very encouraging reflection, 
philosophical as it was, and the little boy was on 
the point of asking whether it would not be 
possible to vary the ship's course a little, so as 
to go round the storm and not straight through 
it, when the seaman, seating himself upon a 
windlass, volunteered to tell the more authentic 
version as to the cause of this chronic storm. 

''You've heard of Ribault," said he. '* Well, 
it's some of his men, or one of 'em in particular, 
as causes these storms." 



JOHN PAUL JONES 19 

**Why, Ribault's men must all he dead," 
urged the boy. 

** Yes, but one of 'em's ghost isn't — did yer 
ever see a French ghost ? " 

* ' No, I never have, ' ' answered young John. 

'' Well, they're the worst kind — I can tell yer 

that. Now this Ribault, when he sailed from 

France in that year, left a party of Huguenots 

and some sailors some where in Florida and he 

came back home to France. Well, these people 

that he left tried to make a settlement and 

they quarreled, for everybody wanted to be 

governor, and some of 'em up and says, ' We'll 

go back home — that's what we'll do ? ' So 

they rigged up a sort o' boat and started back 

to France. Well, as any one might know, 

that boat drifted about on the ocean one way 

and the other until, if ye'd believe it, she was 

half way across and then she went down and 

the crew of her took to the two small boats that 

they'd fetched along. Well, now, one of those 



20 JOHN PAUL JONES 

life-boats was picked up by an English schooner, 
and her men who were freezing and starving 
were fetched to England and stood up before 
Queen Elizabeth, being great curiosities. And 
then they told their story, and that's how Queen 
Bess got the notion in 'er head to send Sir 
Walter Raleigh and Sir Francis Drake out ex- 
ploring and colonizing on the western continent. 
But what became of the other life-boat no man 
saw. She must have gone down close upon 
those Azore Islands, for one of her passengers — 
a French Huguenot — swam to the shore and 
waited for some boat to come along and pick 
him up. He hailed and called and danced day 
after day and month after month, but no boat 
came near enough to notice him, until finally he 
died after standing on the edge of that shore 
and waving his hands and yelling at the top of 
his lungs for seven years. But having more 
power as a ghost than he had had when he was 
only a man, he just kept right on standing there, 



JOHN PAUL JONES 21 

and summoned up all the imps and spirits of the 
sea to make a great storm for him in hopes of 
wrecking some vessel and getting her attention. 
For that ghost could do anything but swim. 
And there the spirit of that French Huguenot 
has been standing from that day to this, one 
hundred and ninety-four years, stirring up the 
ocean and the wind and brewing a great gale 
that never stops, in the hopes of getting off the 
island. And they do say as on dark and bluster- 
ing nights you can hear that Huguenot moaning 
and wailing amid the wind and storm, and see 
his anxious, ashy face glaring through the gale 
when the lightning brightens up the dark sky. 
But being a French Huguenot, nobody pays 
any attention to him, least wise those as comes 
from France, for the French king says that as 
he and his crazy band wanted to own a land and 
have their own kind of religion in it, so now he 
has one all by his self and he ought to be con- 
tented to stay there. ' ' 



2? JOHN PAUL JONES 

Young John Paul had no comment to make 
on this extraordinary tale except the comment 
of two wondering eyes and a rather doubtful ex- 
pression of countenance. But on the next day 
the truth of, at least, part of the seaman's tale 
was very certainly confirmed, for as they neared 
the islands it became apparent that a dreadful 
storm was overhanging the gallant little bark. 
The sky became black and the raging of the 
ocean was quite terrible to behold. Great 
watery mountains came rolling in from afar and 
burst madly into fearful cavernous valleys, into 
which the little vessel plunged as if she were 
disappearing forever into the unknown depths of 
the ocean. In the midst of the terrific gale and 
tremendous breakers, weird uncanny noises 
could he faintly heard over the lonely sea. The 
boy fancied that amid these sounds he could 
hear a hollow voice which seemed to come from 
far away, and once or twice he thought he saw 
a fleshless face with dreadful eyes staring at the 



JOHN PAUL JONES 23 

^'Friendship'' as she weathered through the 
raging storm. But soon the Uttle vessel passed 
the haunted shores and turned her prow straight 
toward fair Virginia, the colony of the gallant 
Raleigh and the name-sake of old England's 
greatest queen. From this point on, the course 
of the "Friendship,'' unlike the course of her 
sister attribute, ' ' true love, ' ' ran very smoothly 
indeed, and before many more days had passed 
the fresh sweet-scented air, wafted from the 
luxurious garden of the South, could be felt on 
the decks of Mr. Younger' s ship. 



/ 



24 



JOHI^ PAUL JONES 



CHAPTER III 



SAILOR AND PATRIOT 













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J o h n' s big 
brother lived at 
Fredericksburg, in 
Virginia, less than 
a hundred miles 
from that other 
Frederic town, 
where good old 
Barbara Fretchie 
waved her Ameri- 
can flag from her 

attic window a hundred years later as the Con- 
federate troops marched by. So he made his way 
to his brother's home, and announced that he was 
in port for a brief stay. 

The gallant little sailor of thirteen years was 
received in the pleasant home, and spent most of 



JOHN PAUL JONES ' 25 

his time there while he was on shore. It was a 
typical Virginia home — a planter's estate — with 
wide, flat fields of fertile soil, filled with tall, 
graceful cornstalks bending to the breeze. 

The honored guest had a room to himself, with 
a globe and a map to study with, and he spent his 
S23are time in learning the geography of the world 
and the art of navigation. All about him, in 
the beautiful land of Virginia, the busy planters 
tilled their fields, and from the little crooked win- 
dow of his room, he could see miles and miles 
of wheat and corn stretching away like a vast, 
billowy sea. 

No one knew that the boy, up in the window, 
was preparing himself to help save these beauti- 
ful slopes and meadows, these happy homes, from 
the clutches of the English king. He did not 
know it himself. But in the fullness of time he 
came forth, as we shall see, ready to do his share 
in the great task. 

Pretty soon, Mr. Younger, the merchant, 



26 JOHN PAUL JONES 

failed, which was a very foiianate thing for 
Master John Paul, for it gave him a chance to 
climb a step higher. He was a very fortunate 
youngster, such as we seldom read of out of story 
books; for men were always failing, or dying, 
or giving up their commissions so as to give him a 
chance. Everything seemed to favor him as the 
years rolled by. Soon the young man became 
third mate on a slave ship of Whitehaven. Then 
the chief mate on another slave ship, called ''The 
Two Friends y' died, and John Paul became chief 
mate on that craft. But the man who was later 
to fight for liberty, so bravely, could not bear to 
see his fellow beings in chains, so he gave up that 
occupation in disgust when he had seen a little 
of its horrors and cruelties. He was then nine- 
teen years of age, and he took passage on a pass- 
enger vessel bound for his beloved and native 
Scotland. During the voyage both the captain 
and the first mate died, and John Paul took com- 
mand, and brought the vessel safely over the 



JOHN PAUL JONES 27 

broad Atlantic into port. When the owners of 
the vessel learned the circumstances, they at once 
made him captain, and sent him to the West In- 
dies. So you see that John Paul was born under 
an unusually lucky star. 

When he was twenty- four years old, he made 
another trip to Scotland, and some people say 
that he was engaged in smuggling in the Isle of 
Man. Nobody ever told him this to his face how- 
ever and, when he heard about the old rumor later 
in life he denied it. 

He had now come to be twenty-six years old 
and he went back to Virginia, where his good 
brother had lately died, intending to settle down 
comfortably on the large estate, and be a countrj^ 
gentleman, and live out the rest of his days in 
peace and ease. For two years, he stayed on the 
old place, living a serene and placid life among 
his cattle herds and horses, and it was then that 
he took the name of Jones, perhaps because it 
was a plain and quiet name, and suitable to the 



28 JOHN PAUL JONES 

calm and quiet life he was leading. A good many 
people have given guesses on this subject, and this 
is offered as a brand new guess. 

He hved in the good old way that Americans 
lived in those good old days, the days we hear of 
in song and story, but which have faded away as 
our beloved country has grown larger and richer ; 
the good old-fashioned days that are no more. 

While this rover of the seas was thus passing 
his days in the retirement of his fine country 
home, great events were taking place in the Vir- 
ginia colony, and in the other colonies along the 
shore. All about him were beginning to be seen 
preparations for a mighty struggle. Up in the 
grand old commonwealth of Massachusetts, brave 
men were speaking out brave thoughts that rang 
through the land, and stirred the good people as 
they had never been stirred before. Samuel 
Adams, the sturdy old Quaker, was being called 
a rebel. And the British commander held a war- 
rant for the arrest of John Hancock, which he 



JOHN PAUL JONES 29 

couldn't serve because he couldn't find him. In 
every little quiet home, men were waiting with 
their muskets ready for the call to arms, and in a 
hundred villages the sturdy minute-men drilled 
on the public greens and waited. Gen. Gage, 
with his proud British regulars, was in Boston, 
waiting for the spirit of rebellion to rise a little 
higher and give him an excuse to shoot upon the 
brave and honest pioneers. 

Then it was that Patrick Henry called out, 
"Give me liberty or give me death." Then it 
was that the Continental Congress met in Phila- 
delphia and Virginia sent her illustrious son, 
Thomas Jefferson, to speak for her, and say that 
she would do her part. Then it was that royal 
governors were losing their royal nen^e, and 
trembling in their royal shoes. Then it was that 
George Washington stood at his mother's arm- 
chair, and bending over her bade her good-bye, 
and went forth to take command. Then it was 
that John Paul Jones came forth from his retreat 



30 JOHN PAUL JONES 

— he who understood the sea, the young ship's 
master — and offered himself to the oppressed and 
strugghng colonies, and to the glorious cause. 

On Dec. 22, 1775, he was appointed a Lieu- 
tenant in the Colonial Navy. A fleet of thirteen 
gallant little vessels was equipped, and on one 
of these, the flagship ''Alfred,'' our hero opened 
his thrilling career as a fighter on the high seas. 

We must now forget the little boy who was 
bom among the Scotch hills, and who sailed on the 
good bark ''Friendship,'' for it is a naval hero 
whom we have to follow through conflict and dan- 
ger and bloodshed, into victory and fame. It was 
on this vessel that the young patriot sailor first 
raised the American flag, in honor of the com- 
mander-in-chief who came on board, and as it 
floated in the sky above them, a rousing cheer was 
sent up for the emblem of the new-bom land. It 
WBS the first time the national banner had been 
given to the breeze, and it floated in the free air 
until the end was known — until Cornwallis had 



JOHN PAUL JONES 31 

surrendered — until the thirteen colonies were an 
independent nation. Paul Jones was then 
twenty-nine years old. His figure was light and 
graceful, his movements quick, and his brown 
face wore a melancholy and thoughtful look. He 
was small, like Napoleon, with clear, keen, fear- 
less eyes, and tradition says that there was a 
strange fascination about him which none who 
knew him could resist or overcome. 

Besides this, I have no doubt at all that he 
could dance a horn-pipe, and that the deck 
planks of the good ship " Alfred'' very frequent- 
ly felt the inspiring touches of his airy steps and 
twirls. For a horn-pipe is a thing which every 
jolly tar knows how to do, and as there is no 
such thing in history as a tar who was not jolly, 
we may be assured that the boisterous seamen of 
the "Friendship'' had instructed young John 
in that graceful maritime accomplishment, many 
years before. 



32 



JOPIN PAUL JONES 



CHAPTER IV 



LIEUTENANT AND CAPTAIN 



In those days, 
•Lord Dunmore, 
the royal governor 
of Virginia, made 
h i s headquarters 
on a British vessel, 
off the coast, be- 
cause he was afraid 
to set foot on land. 
As there wasn't 
any royal govern- 
ing to do, he spent his time ravaging the little 
villages along the Virginia shore. So the 
American squadron was directed to sail 
against him. But the old excuse of ice 
in the river, which prevents so many of us 
from getting to our work promptly even now, 
kept the vessels in the Delaware, and when they 




JOHN PAUL JONES 33 

finally did sail it was toward the Bahama Islands. 
It was feared that they could not get into the 
harbor of New Providence, but John Paul Jones 
volunteered to lead the way, and then the rest 
followed and anchored safely in the bay. The 
next morning, Lieut. Jones sailed away with a 
good many military stores, which he had taken, 
and with the governor of the island, who was 
very much astonished, as you may suppose, at be- 
ing taken captive. On his way back, he fell in 
with a British vessel, which got away from him, 
however, and soon he put into New London. Be- 
cause of this successful little expedition, Paul 
Jones was made a captain and given a boat, the 
sloop ''Providence.'' With this vessel, he sailed 
out on the Atlantic and struck terror to English 
vessels, and to hostile settlements along the 
shore. After a short while he put into New- 
port with some valuable prizes. Then with 
the ''Alfred" and the "Providence,'' both, he 
made a voyage to Cape Breton. It was get- 



34 JOHN PAUL JONES 

ting so now that a British vessel would rather 
encounter almost anything than Paul Jones and 
his bold little ship. They were growing to look 
upon him as a sort of hurricane always to be en- 
countered and always dreaded. Whatever was 
needed for the ill-fed and poorly-clad American 
troops, he managed to secure out on the seas. He 
brought a goodly store of clothes and blankets 
to Gen. Washington's soldiers, and the Conti- 
nental Congress grew to regard him as a sort 
of property man, or master of supplies. He con- 
tinued this valuable service for two years, taking 
prizes and stores, capturing British vessels, and 
getting away in a most unaccountable manner 
from those he could not take. He would appear 
and disappear as if he came out of the depths 
of the ocean, and no one knew what to expect. 
Finally, he was ordered to go to France in a 
little vessel called the ''Ranger,'' and take pos- 
session of a large vessel that was being built 
for him there. The ''Ranger'' had eighteen guns, 



JOHN PAUL JONES 35 

which the gallant little captain said was more 
than he needed, and after a rough and stormy voy. 
age, she sailed into Nantes with two prizes which 
she had taken on the way. Paul Jones seldom 
came into port without some kind of a prize. He 
was a sort of naval Santa Claus who could al- 
ways be relied upon to bring good things home 
to the young colonies. Wherever he went he got 
things, and he always sailed into port loaded 
down like a suburban resident. 

When he had landed, he made his way to Paris, 
where he was disappointed to learn that the vessel 
which was being secretly built for him could not 
be completed, as the English had put a stop to 
it with some very nice international law. So 
he decided to go on a demolishing expedition 
around the British Isles, with his little eighteen- 
gun '' Ranger y But before he started out, he put 
in motion a splendid scheme to defeat Earl 
Howe's squadron which was anchored in the Dela- 
ware river, and preparing to do all sorts of things 



36 JOHN PAUL JONES 

to the Southern colonies. He made arrangements 
to employ a French fleet under Count D'Estaing, 
to sail over and attack the British ships. 

Before he left France, he asked to have the 
American flag saluted hy the French war ves- 
sels, so that he could say that our emblem had 
been formally and publicly recognized. This 
was done amid wild cheering, and the good ship 
''Ranger' turned her prow toward the Isle of 
^lan. Paul Jones was in high spirits, for he 
longed to deal with the enemy on her native shore, 
and avenge the insults and outrages of British 
cruisers along the American coast. While he 
was in France, he wrote so many letters home 
that nobody has been able to get trace of them 
all. But he did and said many things while there 
which helped to make the French people sympa- 
thize Avith the Colonial cause. 

There was loud singing on the light and grace- 
ful little ''Ranger'' as she rose upon the waves 
in the Enghsh channel, and wild sea-gulls gath- 



JOHN PAUL JONES 



37 




The tall masts of a hundred merchant ships rose like shadowy- 
spectres. — Page 3 . 






38 JOHN PAUL JONES 

ered about her, as she sped along, as if they too 
were interested in the good cause and were urg- 
ing her on. Thus she bounded joyously along, 
with a hundred stout hearts aboard her, until the 
captain found that the wind was fair for White- 
haven, which, as you will remember, was the port 
from which little John Paul sailed to Virginia, 
nineteen years before. So he decided to deal a 
mighty blow to Whitehaven. 

At midnight on April 26, 1778, under cover 
of the darkness, he sailed, with two small boats, 
into the harbor. Against the black sky the tall 
masts of a hundred merchant ships rose like shad- 
owy spectres. Not a sound could be heard except 
the gentle splashing of the oars, as the two little 
boats, with Paul Jones standing in the foremost, 
approached the landing. As the men stepped 
ashore, the first pale light of dawn told them they 
had not a moment to lose. The httle band crept 
stealthily up a rocky hill, to where an old fort was 
located, and after a little resistance from the sur- 



JOHN PAUL JONES 



39 



prised and frightened occupants, it was taken. 
They then set fire to one of the British merchant- 
men, and as the red flames rose crackhng, in the 
pale morning hght, from the doomed vessel, Paul 
Jones stood near her, pistol in hand, to shoot 
down any Britisher who should approach the burn- 
ing craft, or try to save her. He took three British 
soldiers away with him as souvenirs, and as the 
two little boats made their way back to the waiting 
''Ranger/' Si great crowd of astonished and terror- 
stricken inhabitants stood gaping on the shore. 




40 



JOHN PAUL JONES 



CHAPTER V 



THE GALLANT ^^RA'NGEII' 



You may well 
suppose that the 
English were 
amazed at the gal- 
lant little captain's 
audacity. They 
had ravaged the 
American shores to 
their hearts' con- 
t e n t, supposing 
that their own be- 
loved and well-protected water fronts were safe 
from harm, and ever after this event they spoke 
of Paul Jones as a wicked pirate, and mothers 
frightened their disobedient children with his 
name, and told them of the fieiy-tailed comet, 



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JOHN PAUL JONES 41 

disguised as a man, which dashed along the rocky 
shores at night. 

But John Paul Jones had done nothing that the 
English did not try to do in America. He had 
the authority of his country for everything he 
did, and the real reason that he was so despised 
was because he was so successful. 

It was now morning — the bright sun shone on 
the little "Ranger' as she bounded merrily 
over the waves mitil she sailed into the well- 
known bay where John Paul had seen the ships 
anchored when he was a little boy. He visited the 
old home, and for a few short hours trod once 
again the well-known grounds wliich once had 
been so dear. How strangely familiar these an- 
cient haunts and landmarks must have seemed 
to the little boy who played among them twenty 
years before — so many things had happened since 
he went forth into the great world. 

But time was precious, and he did not tarrj" 
long at the old place. He made a visit to the 



42 



JOHN PAUL JONES 




JOHN PAUL JONES 43 

Earl of Selkirk's place nearby, and it was very 
fortunate that the old earl was not at home or 
he would have been taken away as a prisoner. 

Some time before these events, Capt. Jones 
had tried to surprise and capture a British man- 
of-war named the ''Drake'' in the Irish harbor 
of Carrickfergus. Everything had gone wrong, 
his cable had broken, the plan had been discovered 
and the bold project given up. But now the 
''Drake'' was instructed to sail out, and find the 
wicked "Ranger," and punish her as she deserved 
for her recent little excursion along the British 
shore. Now it happened that at the same time, 
the "Range?'" was searching for the "Drake" 
for Capt. Jones was anxious to have the fight 
which he had promised himself a month or two 
before. They met oiF Carrickfergus, and, as 
usual, the British vessel was larger and better 
fitted than the one in which Capt. Jones sailed. 
He never fought a battle in all his life where he 
had any advantage to begin with. When the two 



44 JOHN PAUL JONES 

boats came in range of each other they hoisted 

colors, and at the same time the ''Drake'' hailed: 

"What ship is that?" 

And Jones answered: 

"The American Continental ship 
'Ranger.' We are waiting* for 
you — come on — its getting late and 
time to begin." 

So the "Drake" opened fire, and all her crew 
laughed merrily at the impudence of the little 
American craft. But in those days it was the 
captain, and not the craft, that counted, as we 
shall soon see. In a moment, the heaven was lurid 
with the wild fire of conflicting guns. Amid 
the din and uproar of that fierce and bitter hour, 
the little captain ran about his vessel, issuing 
commands, and filling his men with the wildest 
enthusiasm. Not for one moment did the flag 
of the United Colonies cease to wave above her 
brave defender, to give her men new courage and 
fresh hope. For more than an hour this fear- 



JOHN PAUL JONES 



45 




The fight between the '* Bon Homme Richard " and tbq 
*' Serapis."— Page 63.. 



46 JOHN PAUL JONES 

ful battle went on; for more than an hour the 
gallant little "Ranger'' held her own and poured 
her well-aimed shots into the haughty man-of- 
war. Finally the ''Drake,'' whose crew had 
sneered at the little ''Ranger," ceased firing, and 
surrendered to John Paul Jones. It was a fear- 
ful conflict, and a grand victory. It carried fear 
into the English navy, powerful as it was, and 
when the news of it reached the colonies, where 
Gen. Washington was fighting so bravely, vast 
multitudes sent up three cheers for their peer- 
less hero of the sea. The "Drake" lost forty of 
her crew, and was in a very bad condition. With 
his prize, Capt. Jones sailed around Ireland, 
taking other prizes, and finally put into the har- 
bor of Brest in France. On his way there, he met 
the large French fleet that he had helped to pro- 
cure for the Colonies. It was on its way to the 
Delaware, and Jones was hailed as a hero by 
all her oflicers and crew. He was a very famous 
man now — loaded with glory and honors. When 



JOHN PAUL JONES 47 

he reached France, all were anxious to see the 
wonderful fighter— the hero of the Colonial 
navy— the conqueror of the "Drake.'' But 
Jones was there for a purpose which it took him 
a year to accompHsh, but which had great re- 
sults, as we shall see in the next chapter. 

Meanwhile he enjoyed himself as people are 
apt to do in care-free and merry France, and his 
agreeable manners and charming personality 
took him into the most polite and cultivated 
society of that polite and cultivated land. He 
became a **lion," which is a name that 
people give to men who are very much 
sought after, though why a man who is thus 
honored should be called a lion in preference to 
a tiger or a giraffe, I am sure I do not know. 
However this may be, I am glad to tell you that 
John Paul Jones was not spoiled in the least by 
all these flatteries and attentions, though I am 
equally soiTy to have to tell you that he re- 
mained an old bachelor all his life. 



48 



JOHN PAUL JONES 



CHAPTER VI 



A TERRIBLE SEA FIGHT 



When Paul 
Jones first went 
over to France 
from the Colonies, 
he took with him 
the splendid news 
that the English 
Burgoyne had sur- 
rendered his Brit- 
ish Regulars t o 
Gen. Gates, which 
caused great rejoicing in Paris, because the 
French people were not feeling very friendly 
toward the English at that time. They began to 
see that the Colonies meant business, and they 
thought that possibly they might be willing to 
help them a little more if they were politely 




JOHN PAUL JONES 49 

asked. The French king was having a great 
laugh to see the fine British army handing its 
swords to a few patriotic farmers, and he 
thought that if he could just stand in the back- 
ground and help a little, without being seen, 
it would be a very generous and noble act, and 
help the fun along immensely. Of course, Capt. 
Jones knew this, so as soon as he arrived in Brest, 
he appealed to the French king for a squadron 
to help in the good cause of Colonial liberty. 
But he had a year of anxious waiting before any 
response came to his efforts. Then the king and 
his ministers, after putting him off a dozen 
times, gave him a fleet in which to go after the 
English. It was a strange collection of boats — • 
boats that had been cast off as useless, with crews 
and officers that ought to have been cast off 
as useless, too. One of these, a worn out 
old boat that should have been sawed up 
for kindling wood, was called the ''Bon 
Homme Richard,'' but ''Poor Richard'' is 



R P 



50 JOHN PAUL JONES 

the name that Benjamin Frankhn gave her, 
and this name fitted her about the best of all. 
She had had several names. Jones used her as his 
flagship, and her name has come down in history, 
for she took part in the greatest naval battle that 
was ever fought between two single vessels on the 
high seas. 

The officers were all French, but the fleet 
sailed under the American flag. The "Richard'' 
had a strange crew of three hundred and seventy- 
five sailors of several different countries, and she 
carried forty-two guns. Each captain wanted 
to command the whole fleet, and all were jealous 
of the famous American. Many of them de- 
serted until Paul Jones, who was now a commo- 
dore, had only th^ee vessels besides his ovra. 

They sailed from France in the middle of Au- 
gust, 1779, and cruised along the Yorkshire 
coast. After taking a few prizes, as usual, the 
Commodore was preparing to end his voyage 
in Holland, when something happened which 



JOHN PAUL JONES 51 

jsent his name ringing over all the world, and 
made the British empire stand aghast. 

Just as the September sun was setting, after 
a long and sultry afternoon, the Commodore, 
standing on the deck of the ''Richard,'' with his 
spyglass, noticed a few specks far off over the 
water. Larger and larger they grew, and nearer 
and nearer they came, until he saw plainly that 
they were the great Baltic fleet of merchant ves- 
sels escorted by two noble men-of-war. Surely 
this merchant fleet was safe under the protection 
of such an escort. Surely no harm could come to 
it, as it made its way slowly and majestically sea- 
ward. 

Paul Jones knew that if any battle was to take 
place, it would be without the help of his other 
vessels, for their cowardly commanders were not 
to be depended upon. So he watched the move- 
ments of the stately procession as it neared the 
poor, old battered ''RichardJ' and sent its rip- 
ples rolling toward her hulk. But the same man 



52 JOHN PAUL JONES 

who had trodden the deck of the ''Ranger' 
watched her passing with a keen eye. His look 
was intense. So, the Une of boats passed by in the 
gathering darkness. 

Suddenly an order went forth from the "Rich- 
ard'' It was an order to give chase. The 
French officers thought the Commodore insane. 
Two of them did not obey. The British vessels 
immediately prepared to defend the merchant- 
men. The fight which followed happened in the 
dark. The ''Richard" was within musket-shot 
of the "Serapis' — the larger of the two British 
men-of-war. The wind was slack, and the two 
vessels came in contact. The rigging became 
entangled, and the gallant Paul Jones, leading 
his men with waving sword, tried to board the 
British man-of-war. A terrible fight with pistols 
and swords followed, and he was repulsed by 
Capt. Pearson, the commander of the "Serapis.'' 

"Have your colors struck?" called the English 
captain. 



JOHN PAUL JONES 53 

"I have not begun to fight j^et," rephed John 
Paul Jones. 

From *deck to deck of the entangled vessels 
the combatants madly rushed, fighting like de- 
mons. Soon the "Richard" began to sink; 
slowly she was filling with water. Most of her 
guns were silenced, but one or two of those in 
her tower still sent deadly volleys down upon the 
foe. At half past nine, the moon rose in the quiet 
sky, upon a fearful scene. The ''Richard'' was 
on fire. In the midst of smoke, and smothered 
flame, and the roar of great guns, men as furious 
as wounded tigers were struggling hand to hand. 
At that moment, a cry went up that the " Rich- 
ard' was sinking. A frightened gunner started 
to pull down the American flag, but was thrust 
aside by Paul Jones. 

"Do you want quarter for your sinking ship?" 
asked the English captain. 

"Never," replied Paul Jones, and as the bat- 



54 JOHN PAUL JONES 

tered old craft burned and sank, the brave fight 
went on. 

And the fight was won; won by Paul Jones, 
the daring and intrepid commander. Slowly the 
flames crept up the rigging of the ''Serapis,'' and 
by their glow, and by the full light of the moon, 
Paul Jones saw that his shots had almost cut 
Pierson's mainmast in two. The moonlight 
and the sudden bursts of flame showed the 
Commodore that the English sailors were get- 
ting few, and that all was confusion on the 
larger craft. He hurled another shot upon it, 
and the tall mast reeled and fell like a dead man. 
The ''Serapis'' had been frightfully damaged. 
The English captain saw his peril, and striking 
hisfflag, surrendered to Paul Jones. As Pierson 
handed his sword to the gallant American, Com- 
modore Jones handed it back, saying: 

"You have fought like a hero, and 
I have no doubt your king will re- 
ward you." 



JOHN PAUL JONES 55 

Pierson's king did reward him by making 
him a baronet. When Paul Jones heard of this, 
he said : 

' ' He deserved it, and if I meet 
him again I'll make a lord of him. " 

But however grateful and appreciative King 
George the Third might have been to the cap- 
tain who fought so loyally in the Royal cause, 
the victory of Paul Jones that night in those 
British waters was a humiliation to the English 
government, from which, even among her 
glories and triumphs, she has never quite re- 
covered. It was an hour for Britannia to 
discontinue her little song about ruling the 
waves, and to bow her head in shame. For an 
old wooden tub had sailed into her waters and 
hurled defiance at her invincible navy. She 
might soothe her beaten captain tenderly, but 
she could not get her vessel back, and worse than 
this the French king was laughing in a most 
uproarious manner across the channel. 



56 



JOHN PAUL JONES 



CHAPTER VII 

LAST YEARS 

After this won- 
derful victory, 
Paul Jones trans- 
ferred his crew 
from the sinking 
''Richard'' to the 
''SerapisJ' and 
sailed triumphant- 
ly to Holland. As 
he landed, great 
multitudes of peo- 
ple crowded to the wharf to get a glimpse 
of the American hero, and do him hon- 
or. After remaining a little while in Am- 
sterdam, he set sail for France where Ben- 
jamin Franklin was waiting to receive him. 
You may well imagine how the illustrious hero 




JOHN PAUL JONES 57 

of the ''Bon Homme Richard' ' was received by 
the affectionate and Hght-hearted French peo- 
ple. The French king, Louis XVI, who had his 
head chopped off a Httle later, presented him 
with a gold-hilted sword, and gave him so many 
honorable titles and degrees that he could scarcely 
hold them all. He received no end of flattery 
and attention. After a while, he thought that he 
would go to America, so he set sail in a little 
vessel called the ''Ariel,'' and arrived in Phila- 
delphia in Febiniary, 178L Of course, he took 
some prizes on the way back, and he received a 
welcome home that spread enthusiasm over all 
the land. The Continental Congress voted a 
golden medal to the conquerer, and great crowds 
cheered him, and followed him about. 

It was a glorious time for the good colonists, 
and all were filled with hope and joy. Down in 
Virginia, Gen. Washington had Lord Corn- 
wallis in a very tight place, and my Lord was 
beginning to feel that the only way out of it 



58 JOHN PAUL JONES 

was to surrender. The long, hard, bitter strug- 
gle was almost ended and the thirteen col- 
onies were soon to take their place among the 
great nations of the world. 

But Paul Jones was not idle. He joined 
the French fleet that was fighting in the Colonial 
cause, and battled gallantly for his country's 
freedom. And when all was over, when the last 
bugle had been blown, when the hardy farmers 
had lain down their arms and had^gone back to 
their homes and fields, when the last British Reg- 
ular had been packed oif home, John Paul Jones 
asked if there was anything more he could do, for 
he wanted to fight just as long as there was any 
excuse for battle. 

He lived quietly in the United States for two 
years. But the old house of his good brother in 
Virginia he never saw again. It is there that we 
should like to think of his ending his days — 
there among the rich vine-clad hills, under the 



JOHN PAUL JONES 59 

quiet Southern sky, amid all the sweet influences 
of his beautiful country home. 

He was born to be a rover, to fight whenever 
and wherever he could, and to help where help 
was needed. 

He went back to France, and tried to collect 
some prize money. Then he went to Denmark, 
and then to Russia, where the* Empress received 
him kindly, and made him a rear admiral in the 
Russian navy. Russia was then at war, and once 
again he^took his sword in hand, and fought her 
battles on the Black Sea. But she did not ap- 
preciate his services. Her officers were jealous 
of the great man, and he was dismissed from the 
service without any explanation or just cause. 
From there he went to Paris, where he had first 
listened to the world's applause, and where he 
had many friends. Here he lived — going into 
the public assemblies now and then until his 
health began to fail. In 1792, the United States 
sent a ship to France, with a commission to Paul 



60 JOHN PAUL JONES 

Jones to fight the Barbary powers, who were 
causing trouble for American vessels in the 
far East. But it was too late, for when the 
vessel arrived in France, the gallant patriot and 
fighter was no more. 

One day he sent for two notaries, who found 
him sitting in a great armchair. He told them 
that he was an American citizen, and wanted 
to make his will. He dictated it with much ef- 
fort, for he was very ill, and then the notaries 
went away. Not long after, the doctor came 
to make his usual visit. No one was in the arm- 
chair. On going into the next room they found 
him lying face downward on the bed, with his feet 
resting on the floor. On turning him over, it was 
found that he was dead. 

Two days after his death, the remains of Paul 
Jones were placed in a leaden coffin, in case the 
United States should ever claim them, and con- 
ducted, as was supposed, to their last resting- 
place. 



JOHN PAUL JONES 



61 




He dictated it with much effort; for he was very ill. — Page ()0« 



62 JOHN PAUL JONES 

Not long ago, the United States did claim 
the ashes of her illustrious citizen, and buried 
them in the country his courage had defended — 
under the flag his own hand first gave to the 
skies. After the lapse of more than a century, 
his remains were recently discovered in a tomb 
at the French capital. They were brought to 
the United States in gi^and state, on one of our 
large war vessels. How surprised the hero 
would have been could he have known of the 
great steel man-of-war that was at last bearing 
him home. A solemn funeral was held, and the 
ashes of the restless patriot were placed in the 
chapel crypt of our Naval Academy at Annap- 
olis. 

But his fame lives and increases as time goes 
on. He fought against fearful odds, and the 
vessels that he captured were always better than 
his own. His country, now grown large and 
powerful, has lately turned to honor him, and 
future generations will come to think of him 



JOHN PAUL JONES 



63 



not only as a brave and good man, but as the 
most wonderful naval genius that ever fought 
under the American flag. 




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